2013 CLASS 5A STATE FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUP
NO. 19 OVERLAND (6-3) VS. NO. 14 RANGEVIEW (6-2)
Nov. 1, 6 p.m., APS Stadium
BREAKDOWN: Overland of the Centennial League and Aurora League champion Rangeview meet for the first time since at least the 2000 season. It’s the only all-Aurora meeting of the first round of the Class 5A playoffs…Coach Seth Replogle has the guided the Trailblazers to the 5A playoffs in each of his two seasons at the helm, but is looking for his first postseason win as Overland lost to Mullen 25-20 last season. The program as a whole is in search of its first postseason victory since topping Fairview in the first round of the 2006 postseason under legendary former coach Tony Manfredi. …Coach Dave Gonzales has his Rangeview team in the 5A playoffs for the 7th straight season and 8th time in the past 9 years. The Raiders have just two playoff wins in that span, however, both coming in 2010 when they advanced to the 5A quarterfinals before losing to Grandview. …OVERLAND: Replogle’s team entered the postseason with a 5-4 record and nearly the same seed (20 last season, 19 this season) and enter the postseason coming off a 27-14 loss to Cherokee Trail on Oct. 25, a defeat that snapped a 3-game winning streak. …Overland will be glad to see junior QB Austin Conway back under center for the playoff game, as he missed the regular season finale after getting ejected from the previous game against Smoky Hill with sophomore Brent Halliburton drawing the start in his place. Conway is always looking to make a play and has made tons of them so far this season, as he has thrown for 1,683 yards and rushed for 991 more thus far, plus a total of 27 touchdowns (18 passing — vs. 13 interceptions — plus 9 rushing), while he is an electric return kick returner when teams choose to give him a chance. Conway has a particular connection with uber-athletic senior WR Khalil Jenkins, who has caught 35 passes for 655 yards and 9 touchdowns, while senior TE AJ Roper (384 yards, 6 TDs) and senior WR Dominican Waynewood (279 yards, 4 TDs) also see their share of targets. Junior RB Ahjon White compliments Conway on the ground with 508 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns. …Defensively, senior LB Tre Thomas spearheads an athletic group that has been solid all season. The hard-hitting Thomas rarely comes off the field and has been credited with a 5A-best 172 tackles, including 4 sacks, the same number as sophomore LB Taylor Marshall. A strong defensive backfield including seniors DBs Deante Manlove and Roper plus sophomore DB Michael Burke has accounted for 9 interceptions between them. …RANGEVIEW: Gonzales’ Raiders come into the postseason with a 6-2 record, having played one fewer game than nearly every other 5A team due to a non-league game lost against Fairview due to Colorado’s massive flooding in early September. Rangeview won its last six games after an 0-2 start, finishing up with a 43-10 rout of Denver East on Oct. 24 that secured the program’s fourth consecutive league championship. Shifty senior RB Kietrich Griffin rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown and Rangeview’s defense forced 5 turnovers, including a pair of interceptions from sophomore DB Elijah Reed. …The Raiders have had many explosive offensive outings this season, but haven’t needed to be. They have a veteran under center in senior QB Darien Odegard, who will see action in his third postseason contest. Odegard has thrown for 565 yards and 8 touchdowns — with 7 interceptions — and rushed for 273 yards and 4 TDs. Griffin, who leads the team with 710 rushing yards on 79 carries — an average of a shade under 9 yards per carry — and freshman RB Max Gonzales (290 yards, 3 TDs) form a nice combination in the backfield, with senior FB Oscar Lorandi getting some carries when tough yards are needed. Junior WR Arealous Hughes has played in only 5 games, but pulled in 12 passes for 228 yards and 3 TDs, while senior TE Sean O’Keefe has averaged 20 yards on each of his 6 receptions. …Defensively, Rangeview has yielded only 106 total points on the season and 53 of those came in losses to Regis Jesuit (27-0) and Arapahoe (26-6) to open the season. Senior LB Anasoni Kami is the team’s leading tackler with 58, 1 more stop than junior S Larry Reed, while junior DE Jaelon Wright top the sack-happy Raiders with 7 and senior DL Brian Durham has 4. Elijah Reed’s 7 interceptions lead the team by far, while junior LB Dom Smith has caused 2 fumbles and recovered a team-high 3.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel.
